Woolworth’s did sell drums for many years, but unlike the other big department stores, they were not a catalog company by which we could document what and when they sold drums. So all we have are the drums themselves to tell the story.
Read moreThe Snare Drum Outfit
Many of us share the introduction into the drumming world with that first snare drum, or if you are one of the fortunate ones, the “Snare Drum Outfit”!
Read moreEarly Yamaha Red Ripple Snare Drum
If any of the Japanese drums of the 60’s and 70’s stand out it’s the early Yamaha drums. They projected a professional quality in all of their drums, staying away from the appearance of beginner or entry-level and also avoiding the copycat mentality. This particular snare drum is from the late 60’s to early 70’s and has that flash to it that really stands out.
Read moreVintage MIJ Bongos
The Japanese drum companies used the traditional conical design but using lugs, hoops, and wraps that their drums used. Pearl and Star appear to be the only two manufacturers of bongos in Japan.
Read moreThem Stinkin’ Badges
One of my favorite parts of the vintage MIJ drum genre is simply admiring all the badges, the styles and types and even the brands. A badge on a drum (especially a stencil) lets you know who sold it. Any kind of badging usually accomplishes at minimum the tasks of identification and advertising, and sometimes a little deception with the styling.
Read moreRare Early Pearl Snare Drum
The word “rare” is a very subjective term and quite overused in the drum world, but in this case I think it’s appropriate. There are many parts of this drum which are rarely seen, or not seen at all, and they don’t appear in any known catalogs.
Read moreMIJ Sixties Fibre Gold Star Kit
Every now and then a vintage Japanese kit comes on the market with one of the “fun” wraps. For Star made drums, that would be: the Pearl Fantasia, or the Lava Pearl, or the Peacock Pearl, or what I have today, the Fibre Gold.
Read moreThe History of WhiteHall Drums by Marc Patch
Whitehall was a brand from David Wexler & Co, a company which started in 1920 as a musical instrument distributor in Chicago. The early drums in the Wexler catalog were American made by Kent, but as time passed they were all made by Pearl.
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